Road Trip. | ✓ | [ e d i t i n g ]

chapter twenty-six;;

I'm not sure who woke up first. Then again, I'm not sure it mattered.

The gravel littered across the parking lot was digging into my back and thighs, finding way through my hair and straight to my scalp. I'm sure Nick was feeling the same things, slowly rolling away from me as I slowly rolled away from him. He brushed little rocks off himself, sighing deeply and trying to make something of his surroundings. The air was chilling, a bit damp, clinging to our frames like transparent blankets. A bank of clouds had settled a bit lower than usual, and it started to get foggy in the distance, real foggy. Looked around, completely confused, until I saw the fat red Hyvee sign in front of me, " oh shit."

Nicholas looked up, eyebrows pulled together, one raised a hint more than the other, " what?" his expression fell, " oh."

In our brilliance, we had somehow managed to fall asleep, and stay asleep, in the Hyvee parking lot until - I pulled out my phone - five thirty am. That meant one of two things a: we were going to chill there for a bit or b: we were getting an early start towards home. I honestly preferred the first option.

Nick stood, going up on his hands, then bending straight. He continued to move away little pebbles from his jacket and jeans, and I tossed him his beanie to cover his unruly hair. Not that I didn't like it. I really liked it. He was quick to pull it on, slicking back the dark locks, a few sticking out and touching his forehead and what not. He offered me a hand, which I took, and lifted me up. I swatted at my rear, vaguely aware that there was still rocks embedded in my pants. Nick broke the quiet, " Not the weirdest place I've slept."

" Definitely the weirdest place I've slept." I replied, then I frowned, " wait, what?"

He merely smiled. Linking our fingers, we slowly, but surely, started towards the van. It was parked horribly at the other end of the parking lot, near the line of trees parallel to us. Fog had laced its merry way between the trunks, tickling the bark. As we walked, I leaned against his shoulder, my blond hair matted by the gravel and his chest. I wondered if I could cut it shorter, layer it at the bottom of my neck, or maybe even higher than that. Then again, I probably couldn't pull it off. Nick leaned back briefly, " what are you thinking about?"

" My hair." I replied, with a nod and a simple expression. Then I smiled up a him.

He smiled back, shaking his head like I was an amusing disappointment. Only sometimes. I had some brilliant moments that were worth dying for, " very inspiring. Why so?"

" Well, I'm wondering what it would like like if I cut it shoulder than my shoulders, or right at." I muttered, trying to picture it. The reality was, I needed a pair of scissors and a bunch of confidence. It wasn't like hair didn't grow back - if I didn't like it, I could let it grow back and learn from my mistakes. To bad, it still felt too risky.

Nick chewed at a spot on the inside of his mouth, on his bottom lip that caused it to suck in slightly and make him look nearly edible. I greatly valued his opinion, meaning my ears were wide open while I waited for his response. It took awhile to form. We had stopped walking and he had moved to stand in front of me. Playing with my hair, he made one side loosely vary in length, tilting his head this way and that to get a good perspective of what his decision would be, " I think you'd look just as beautiful as you do now."

While the compliment was sweet, I felt like I had waited awhile for nothing. He knew how to mend though.

" I mean it. I say go for it, if you want. You'll look amazing." He smiled, and winked, something I had adjusted to. I still shivered every time, though, " why?"

" I don't like it all messy like this, it looks like I rolled in mud or something." I said, musing my hair with my fingertips.

He took one of the strands, twisted it around his finger loosely before letting it go, " I like it." He replied, " it's wild, different. Like you." Wrapping his arm around my waist, he pulled me to his side and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, then pecked my nose as he pulled away. My facial features scrunched up.